Tile and metal
Moss Removal for Tile and Metal Roofs in Nanaimo
Concrete tile soaks up water, clay tile snaps underfoot, and metal gets slippery and grows moss at its seams. Each needs its own plan, and we work out that plan first.
Customer reviews
What customers say
Great experience working with this company! Quick turn around time and very professional. I’ll definitely be using their services again in the future.
Great job and fair pricing! Will hire again!
The service provided by the owners of the company and the staff were beyond exceptional. The price was also very exceptable and affordable.
Why us
Why customers love our service
And why you will get the best moss removal service in Nanaimo!
Fast and efficient moss removal
We turn up on the day we said, clear the whole roof, and get off your property without stretching the job out.
Clear and quick communication
You get an answer when you call or text, a price before we start, and a straight account of what we found up on the roof.
Five-star reviews
Consistent five-star reviews from the homeowners our crew works for.
Clearing moss since 2021
Asphalt shingle, cedar shake, tile and metal roofs, and the driveways and paths below them.
- A walking plan for the roof before anyone steps off the ladder
- Moss cleared out of tile laps, pans and the channels between rows
- Seams, ribs and fastener rows on metal panels brushed clean
- Lichen treated so it releases without scraping the finish
- Ridge, hip and valley flashings cleared of packed needles
- Cracked tiles, slipped tiles and loose screws pointed out to you
Before and after
One roof, before and after
Each set is shot from one position: once before we start, and again when the moss is off and the debris is gone.
Tile and metal are less common than asphalt around Nanaimo, but they turn up across the area: concrete tile on some 1990s and 2000s homes in North Nanaimo and Nanoose Bay, and metal on newer builds, cabins near the water, and the houses, shops and barns on acreages in Errington and Coombs. Both last a long time. Neither is moss-proof, and each has its own way of being damaged by careless removal.
Concrete tile: porous and heavy
A concrete tile is made of sand and cement, and it is more porous than it looks. Its slightly rough face holds water and gives moss roots something to grip, so growth on an older concrete tile roof is often thicker than the same shade would produce on metal. Once the factory coating has weathered off, the bare concrete stays damp even longer.
The face of the tile does not mind moss much. The trouble is in the laps, where one tile sits over the next, and the channels where rows meet. Those are drainage paths. Packed with moss and fir needles, they hold water and back it up under the tiles onto the underlay, which is the layer actually keeping the house dry.
Clay tile: hard but brittle
Clay tile is denser and sheds water better than concrete, but it is brittle. A clay tile that takes a boot in the wrong place breaks, and the break may not show until water finds it. On clay we keep foot traffic to a minimum and reach as much as we can from ladders and the eaves.
How it works
Getting Your Roof Moss Removal Booked
Simple from start to finish. Tell us about your roof, get a straightforward quote, and let us do the climbing.
Tell us about your roof
A few details are all we need.
Send us your address, the number of storeys, what the roof is made of if you know, and how much moss you can see from the ground—plus any trees hanging over it.
Get your quote
We price your roof, not a generic house.
Pitch, height, roofing material, how thick the moss is and how we get up there all matter. You'll have a clear quote before we start.
We clear the roof
You stay on the ground.
We lift the moss off by hand, brush the courses clean, treat the roof where it helps, and bag the moss and take it with us. Any washing is a low-pressure soft wash, and high pressure never touches your shingles.
You know what we found
We'll let you know if we spot something.
Lifted shingles? A cracked shake? Worn granules or tired flashing? We'll give you a straightforward heads-up.
That's it.
- You tell us about the roof.
- We give you a clear quote.
- We take the moss off.
- You get one less chore to worry about.
Ready to get the moss off your roof? Get your quote and let us do the climbing.
Metal: seams, screws and slippery footing
Metal panels shed rain fast, so moss on metal seldom covers the open face. It settles where water and debris linger: along the standing seams or ribs, at the horizontal laps where one panel overlaps another, around the rows of exposed screws on screw-down panels, and on the uphill side of chimneys and skylights. Over time that trapped damp wears on the rubber washers under each screw head and on the paint.
Lichen is common on metal too, especially on roofs near the water. It forms grey, green or yellow crusts that grip the coating tightly. Scraping lichen off a painted panel takes the paint with it, so we treat it and let it loosen over the following months.
Metal also changes how we move. A moss-covered or dewy panel is slippery, so we only go up on dry days, we keep to the seams and purlin lines where the panel is supported, and on steeper pitches we work from ladders and safety lines rather than walking the slope.
Valleys, flashings and roof edges
On both tile and metal, the metal flashings in the valleys and around chimneys collect a surprising amount of debris. Fir needles slide down the panels or tiles, stop at the flashing, and moss grows into the mat. On a tile roof that mat can lift water over the edge of the valley tray. On a metal roof it sits against the coating for months. We clear these by hand and check that water can run the full length of each valley to the eave.
The work
On the job
The tools are the same; the plan is not
On every one of these roofs the moss comes off with plastic scrapers and soft brushes, worked downhill. No pressure washer goes anywhere on a tile or metal roof, because at every lap and seam it drives water exactly where these roofs cannot let it go. What changes is where we stand, where we start and which parts we treat rather than clean. The day itself follows our roof demossing routine. For lichen and streaking across a whole roof rather than moss in the joints, see roof cleaning. Tell us the material and the pitch when you ask for a quote, and we will plan from there.
Why choose us
Why choose us for tile & metal roofs
We plan the footing
On tile, where a foot lands decides whether a tile survives. We work that out from the ladder before going up.
Finishes left intact
Painted steel and coated tile are cleaned with soft tools only. Scratches let rust and weather in.
Straight about old breaks
We tell you which cracks were there when we arrived. An old break is dirty along the edge; a new one is not.
Insured for roof work
Our crew is insured and WCB-registered. If any part of the job is not right, we come back and put it right.
Got questions?
Tile and metal roof questions
Can you walk on a concrete tile roof without breaking tiles?
Mostly, if the weight goes in the right spot. On concrete tile that is the lower part of each tile, where it rests on the one beneath and the batten under it. Stepping on the unsupported middle is how tiles crack.
Where a stretch looks too risky, we reach it from a ladder or the eave instead.
What about clay tile?
Clay is harder and more brittle than concrete and far less forgiving. On many clay roofs we avoid walking the field of the roof at all and work from ladders and the edges.
If part of the roof cannot be reached safely without risking tiles, we tell you at the quote.
There are grey and yellow crusty patches on my metal roof. Is that moss?
Those are almost certainly lichen. They grow slowly, grip the surface tightly and do not hold water the way moss does.
We treat lichen and let it release over time rather than scraping it, because scraping would take the paint off with it.
Does moss actually damage a metal roof?
Not by lifting it, the way it lifts shingles. The harm is slower: moss and needles hold water along seams and screw rows, which wears on the washers and the coating, and it can dam water at laps.
Clearing those lines is most of the work on a metal roof.
Do zinc strips work on tile and metal roofs?
They can help on tile. On metal, the panel itself already sheds water quickly, so regrowth tends to be lighter anyway. Mixing certain metals can cause corrosion, so we check what your roof is made of before suggesting anything on our treatment and prevention page.
Will you clean my shop or barn roof as well as the house?
Yes. Many rural properties have a metal-roofed shop, barn or carport beside the house. List each building when you ask for a quote and we will price them separately.
Tile & Metal Roofs in Nanaimo and the mid-Island
Tell us the address and we will get you a price.